Electric power conversion devices and associated control systems are used to interface various energy resources. For example, a power system can include a variety of interconnected distributed energy resources (e.g., power generators and energy storage units) and loads. The power system may also connect to a utility grid or a microgrid system. The power system employs the electric power conversion to convert power between these energy resources (e.g., AC/DC, DC/DC, AC/AC and DC/AC).
In power electronics, a DC/DC converter converts a source from one voltage level to another. DC/DC converters include step-down (buck) converters in which the output voltage is lower than the input voltage and step-up (boost) converters in which the output voltage is higher than the input voltage. DC/DC converters employ various topologies to step up or step down an input voltage to a desired output voltage. For example, a DC/DC converter may employ a switching topology in which switches such as IGBTs receive gate signals to convert the input voltage to a desired output voltage. DC/DC converters may be used in various applications, including microgrid applications in which the DC/DC converter converters the voltage output from a source of energy to a voltage that is appropriate for the microgrid.